Displayer for paperback books

ABSTRACT

A paperback book displayer which is relatively simple and compact in form, so as to occupy a minimum of space, with maximum capacity, while being easy to assemble when shipped or transported in a knock-down or partially knock-down condition. In its various forms as disclosed herein, the displayer basically includes one or more towers which are freely rotatable on a vertical central axis with each tower including a multiple series of vertically spaced shelves or platforms arranged in a tier of any desired number of book supporting shelves, and the shelves being disposed horizontally and connected together in vertically spaced relation by rigid, transparent strips which divide the respective shelves into quarter-segments so as to permit ready access to books displayed on the shelves, and at the same time, allowing quick and easy viewing of all the book spines and many of their front covers.

United States Patent 91 Hudson et al.

[ Oct. 29, 1974 DISPLAYER FOR PAPERBACK BOOKS [73] Assignee: GaylordBros., Inc., Syracuse, NY.

[22] Filed: Feb. 20, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 333,552

[52] US. Cl; 108/60, 108/103, 211/166 [51] Int. Cl A47b 65/00 [58] Fieldof Search 108/103, 94, 60; 211/166,

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 559,161 4/1896 Brower108/163 1,401,084 12/1921 Kaylor 211/163 Primary Examiner-Francis K.Zugel Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Robb & Robb [57] ABSTRACT A paperbackbook displayer which is relatively simple and compact in form, so as tooccupy a minimum of space, with maximum capacity, while being easy toassemble when shipped or transported in a knock-down or partiallyknock-down condition. In its various forms as disclosed herein, thedisplayer basically includes one or more towers which are freelyrotatable on a vertical central axis with each tower including amultiple series of vertically spaced shelves or platforms arranged in atier of any desired number of book supporting shelves, and the shelvesbeing disposed horizontally and connected together in vertically spacedrelation by rigid, transparent strips which divide the respectiveshelves into quarter-segments so as to permit ready access to booksdisplayed on the shelves, and at the same time, allowing quick and easyviewing of all the book spines and many of their front covers.

2 Claims, 24 Drawing Figures smw 4 PAIENTEUHBI 29 1am FIGQ] DISPLAYERFOR PAPERBACK BOOKS This invention relates to book displayers, and moreparticularly to displayers of the type intended primarily for library orbook-store use or the like in displaying paperback books so that all ofthe book spines and many of their front covers are convenientlypresented to view, and the displayers providing a maximum book capacitywhile occupying a minimum of space.

' Basically, our book displayer comprises one or more towers ofvertically spaced shelves or platforms which are connected together byrigid transparent strips extending from the top to the bottom of thetower and providing a unitary tower assembly, and each tower beingrotatably supported on a suitable base or stand permitting rotation ofeach tower about its vertical axis to allow easy viewing of and quickaccess to all the books. In addition to connecting the shelves orplatforms together in a unitary assembly, the transparent strips serveto divide each shelf into quarter-segments so that the books can beplaced in upright position on each shelf in quarter groups, with thespines of all books facing outwardly of the shelf in alternatequarter-group arrangements. Thus, no single book can be lost" or hiddenbehind others, since all of the book spines can be easily seen at alltimes, and the face or front covers of at least one book of eachquarter-group can also be seen at all times, thereby serving to increasethe potential interest of the reader.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a paperback bookdisplayer of the aforementioned type which is relatively simple andinexpensive in construction, easy to assemble, compact in form, andwhich conveniently lends itself to a modular type of construction andassembly, with add-on capabilities. For example, a single tower unitrotatably mounted on a flat base can be effectively used as a table-topor countertop type of displayer, while multiple-towered units having twoor more towers, each rotatably mounted on appropriate supporting standsor bases are better suited for free-standing floor type displayers.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will behereinafter described or will be readily apparent from the followingdescription and the accompanying drawings, and the novel featuresthereof defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a perspective view of one form of our paperback book displayerhaving multiple rotatable towers as supported on a spider type floorstand;

FIG. 2 is a view of the displayer of FIG. 1 as seen in side elevationwhen observed from any of its four major sides;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view on a somewhat reduced scale;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of the upper portion of one tower unit anda portion of its supporting upper spider arm, with a portion of thespider arm broken away and shown in section to expose the pivotalconnection of the tower with the arm;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the displayer assembly withsome of the towers omitted to better show the details of the spider typesupporting stand;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view on a larger scale of one of the shelves orplatforms of one of the book supporting tower units, and showing some ofthe book groups in broken lines when normally arranged thereon for dis-P y;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the shelf or platform of FIG. 7, but ona smaller scale;

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 99of FIG. 7, with some of the transparent shelf supporting and dividerstrips connected thereto and shown in elevation;

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line10-10 of FIG. 7, as when constituting the bottom shelf of the towerassembly, and showing the bottom cover plate and the bottom stub axle orpintle of the tower unit;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary detail vertical section taken on the line 11-11of FIG. 7, showing the manner of connecting the bottom cover plate tothe bottom shelf or platform;

FIG. 12 is a bottom perspective view of one of the shelves or platformsas depicted in FIGS. 7 to 11;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary detail view, partly in elevation and partly insection, of the top platform of the tower assembly, and showing the topcover plate therefor and the top stub axle or pintle of the tower unit;

' FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a modified form of our paperback bookdisplayer having two book supporting towers rotatably mountedrespectively in upright rectangular frames connected together at rightangles to each other and forming a free-standing modular unit withadd-on capabilities;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view in side elevation of one of the frames andits tower of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a top plan view of the modular assembly of FIG. 14, with afragmentary portion of another frame added thereto as one expansionthereof;

FIG. 17 is another top plan view corresponding to FIG. 16, with addedframes and towers further extending the basic modular arrangement ofFIG. 14;

FIG. 18 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line1818 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary detail sectional view taken on the line 1919 ofFIG. 14, showing the manner of connecting the adjoining tower supportingframes together in both their basic and extended arrangements;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a further modified form of ourpaperback book displayer which has only a single book supporting towerrotatably mounted on a flat base as more particularly suited fortable-top or counter-top display use;

FIG. 21 is a view of the displayer of FIG. 20 in side elevation andshown on a somewhat larger scale;

FIG. 22 is a horizontal cross sectional view as taken substantially onthe line 22-22 of FIG. 21, and also showing a typical arrangement of thebooks as on each of the shelves of the rotary tower;

FIG. 23 is a top plan view of the displayer of FIGS. 20 and 22; and

FIG. 24 is a bottom plan view of the displayer of FIGS. 20 to 23.

Like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the variousfigures of the drawings.

Referring first to FIGS. 1-13, this embodiment of our invention providesa plurality of vertical, multi-tiered towers, preferably four in numberbut not limited thereto, as generally designated at l, with each of thetowers being rotatably mounted on a free-standing supporting standgenerally designated 2 to permit free rotation of each tower about itsvertical axis independently of each other, as well as revolution of thetowers together about the vertical axis of the stand for convenientviewing of and/or access to all books displayed on the respectivetowers.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the stand 2 includes a fourlegged pedestal base3 having a central hub 4 formed with a central socket 5 into which isrotatably or tightly, if preferred, seated the lower end of a verticallydisposed standard or pole 6 which extends upwardly therefrom. To ensurethat the standard 6 is vertical even when the pedestal base 3 rests onan uneven floor, each leg of the base is preferably provided at itsouter lower end with an adjustable leveler 7 which may be of anysuitable or conventional type, as shown in FIG. 2.

Mounted on the central pole or standard 6 at the upper end thereof is aspider 8 having any suitable number, preferably four but not limitedthereto, of radially extended arms 9. At a suitable distance below theupper spider 5 there is mounted on the pole 6 a corresponding lowerspider 10 having arms 11 disposed in vertically opposed relation to therespective arms 9 of the upper spider. The tower units 1 are supportedbetween each pair of opposed spider arms 9, 11 so as to be freelyrotatable about the vertical axis of each tower. For this purpose, eachtower is provided at its top and bottom respectively with stub axles orpintles 12, 13 as shown in FIGS. 13 and 10 respectively, said pintlesrotatably seating in sockets 14 provided in the opposed faces of thearms of the respective spiders 8, 10. Sufficient vertical spacing of thespider arms is preferably provided to allow the towers to be mounted onthe stand by tilting each tower inwardly toward the axis of the standand then inserting the upper pintle 12 into the socket 14 of one of theupper spider arms, and thereafter swinging the bottom of the towerinwardly until the lower pintle 13 is aligned with the socket 14 in thecorresponding lower spider arm and can then be inserted therein so thatthe tower is fully retained between the arms.

The details of the towers 1 are best illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 13,wherein each tower comprises a plurality of vertically spaced shelves orplatforms 15 of rectangular, preferably square, outline and formed ofany suitable rigid material capable of supporting the weight of thebooks which are to be displayed thereon, such as high impact styrenehaving a matte (vapor honed) finish on the upper and side faces. Informing the shelves, reinforcing ribs 16 are provided on the upper facethereof and are extended radially outwardly from near a central aperture17 at 90 to each other, but terminating about one-half the distance tothe respective outer marginal sides of the shelf. Outwardly beyond theribs, the shelf is slotted, as at 18 in alignment with each rib, asshown in FIG. 8, with the ribs and slots dividing the shelf intoquarter-segments. The marginal sides of each shelf are preferablyflanged, with the flanges preferably extending slightly above the upperflat surface of the shelf as at 19, and extending a greater distancedownwardly below the flat shelf surface as at 20.

Each quarter-segment of each shelf is also slotted at 21 near the outermarginal edge, with the respective slots extending parallel to themarginal edge along alternate margins around the shelf. On the lowerface of the shelf, radially extended ribs 16' corresponding to ribs 16are provided and terminate at the center of the shelf in the form of ahub 22 having the central aperture 17, while the outer ends of the ribs16' divide and join with parallel double ribs 24 respectively borderingthe slots 18. Additional ribs 25 also are provided on the lower surfaceof the shelf around the margins of the respective slots 21, and all ofthe ribs 24 and 25 are notched as at 26 to receive screw fasteners 27for fixed anchoring the shelf to flat supporting strips 28 with which aseries of shelves are assembled in vertically spaced tiers to form eachtower unit 1. The supporting strips are preferably made of transparentrigid plastic material and extend through the slots 18 and 21 of eachshelf from the bottom to the top of the tower as clearly seen in FIGS.1, 2 and 6.

If desired, the ribs 16 of the top shelf or platform 15 may be removedand the upper face covered by a cover plate or a plastic cover sheet 29adhesively or otherwise applied thereto to present a better appearancein cases where the top of the displayer is near or below eyelevel. Also,the bottom of the bottom shelf can be covered, as by a cover plate 30which can be attached by screw fasteners 31 to bosses 32 formed on thebottom of the shelf as seen in FIGS. 10 and 11.

In displaying the books on the tower shelves, they are preferablygrouped in quarter-groups in side-by-side relation, with all of the bookspines upright, and with the spines of alternate quarter-groups facingoutwardly of the tower but presented to view at alternate sides of thetower, as indicated in broken lines at B in FIG. 7. Thus, the spines areall easily seen without being obstructed by any part of the tower, whilethe cover face of the outermost book of each quarter-group can bereadily observed through the clear shelf-supporting strips 28 whichextend vertically through the marginal slots 21 of each shelf orplatform 15. The raised flange 19 which extends around the margin ofeach shelf serves as a book restraining lip and minimizes accidentaldisplacement of the books should the tower be rotated too vigorouslywhile examining the various books.

Referring now to the modified form of the displayer as shown in FIGS. 14to 19, the towers, generally designated 1, are exactly the same as inthe form previously described in the foregoing, but each tower isrotatably supported by a generally rectangular upright panel-like frameunit 33 consisting of hollow metal tubing, preferably rectangular incross section, defining a pair of laterally spaced upright side members34,34 which are suitably joined, as by welding, to upper and lowerhorizontal members 35, 35. An intermediate horizontal supporting framemember 36 is also provided and serves to support the lower end of thetower 1.

As shown in FIG. 15, the lower side of the upper frame member 35 and theupper side of the intermediate frame member 36 are respectively drilledor punched to provide sockets 37 for the respective upper and lower stubaxles or pintles 12, 13 of the tower 1, and the tower can be assembledin its frame in the same manner as the towers are assembled in thespider arms of the displayer previously described herein. To make thetower assemblies of FIGS. 14-19 free-standing, the frames of two or moretower units are connected together at right angles to each other, asbest shown in FIGS. 14, 16, 17 and 19, with their abutting side members34 joined in any suitable manner, as by means of screw fastenings orclamping bolts 38 extending through punched or drilled apertures 38' inthe frame members.

It will be understood from reference to FIGS. 16 and 17 that thetwo-towered unit of FIG. 14 represents a basic modular unit havingadd-on capabilities by which the basic unit can be extended to anydesired extent by connecting thereto additional tower supporting framesdisposed in zig-zag relation as illustrated, to infinity.

A further modified form of our invention, as shown in FIGS. 20 to 24, ismore particularly applicable as a displayer for table-top or counter-topuse. In this form, only one book supporting tower l is provided and hasthe same basic tower structure except that it has fewer shelves orplatforms l5, and the top pintle or stub axle 12 of the displayer towersis omitted as not needed. Instead, the tower is rotatably mounted by itslower stub axle or pintle 13 in a socket 39 provided in a rectangularflat base 40 of a size that is sufficient to stabilize the tower in itsvertical position, with the books B displayed in quarter-groups on eachshelf as shown in FIG.

While the specific details of our invention have been shown anddescribed herein, the invention is not confined thereto as variouschanges and alterations can be made without departing from the spiritthereof as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A displayer for displaying paperback books, comprising a plurality ofplatforms or shelves of rectangular outline disposed in verticallyspaced horizontal positions in register with each other on a commoncentral axis and forming a multi-tiered book supporting tower, each ofsaid shelves having one set of slots formed therein and extendedparallel to the marginal edges of the respective shelves and locatedsubstantially midway of one quarter-segment of each shelf at alternatesides of the tower and also having a second set of slots extendedinwardly from the middle of each marginal edge of each shelf forapproximately one-half the distance from the marginal edges to thecenter of the respective shelves, with the slots of the respective setsbeing in vertical registry with the corresponding slots of all theshelves, a plurality of flat, substantially rigid, transparentsupporting strips extended through each set of aligned slots from thetop to the bottom of the tower, anchor means for connecting therespective shelves to the supporting strips aforesaid in the zones ofthe respective shelf slots, said supporting strips being so arranged asto divide each shelf into quartersegments of sufficient size to receivequarter-groups of books in upstanding position on the respective shelvesand with the spines of each book of successive quartergroups on the sameshelf facing outwardly of the tower in alternate fashion about the sidesof the tower, and means for rotatably supporting the tower to permitrotation thereof about its central vertical axis to permit unobstructedviewing of all books when displayed on the shelves of the tower.

2. A displayer as defined in claim 1, wherein the anchor means comprisesscrew fasteners detachably interconnecting the shelves to the supportingstrips.

1. A displayer for displaying paperback books, comprising a plurality ofplatforms or shelves of rectangular outline disposed in verticallyspaced horizontal positions in register with each other on a commoncentral axis and forming a multi-tiered book supporting tower, each ofsaid shelves having one set of slots formed therein and extendedparallel to the marginal edges of the respective shelves and locatedsubstantially mid-way of one quarter-segment of each shelf at alternatesides of the tower and also having a second set of slots extendedinwardly from the middle of each marginal edge of each shelf forapproximately onehalf the distance from the marginal edges to the centerof the respective shelves, with the slots of the respective sets beingin vertical registry with the corresponding slots of all the shelves, aplurality of flat, substantially rigid, transparent supporting stripsextended through each set of aligned slots from the top to the bottom ofthe tower, anchor means for connecting the respective shelves to thesupporting strips aforesaid in the zones of the respective shelf slots,said supporting strips being so arranged as to divide each shelf intoquarter-segments of sufficient size to receive quarter-groups of booksin upstanding position on the respective shelves and with the spines ofeach book of successive quarter-groups on the same shelf facingoutwardly of the tower in alternate fashion about the sides of thetower, and means for rotatably supporting the tower to permit rotationthereof about its central vertical axis to permit unobstructed viewingof all books when displayed on the shelves of the tower.
 2. A displayeras defined in claim 1, wherein the anchor means comprises screwfasteners detachably interconnecting the shelves to the supportingstrips.